


Look In the Mirror, So Many People To Be

by i_amthecosmos



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Kissing, M/M, Minor Character Death, Non-Graphic Violence, the Isle was terrible
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-23 13:17:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18550552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_amthecosmos/pseuds/i_amthecosmos
Summary: Carlos stares into the mirror, and one day, the mirror looks back.





	Look In the Mirror, So Many People To Be

**Author's Note:**

> Little bit of darkness. This was slightly inspired by Us, although it's very different. Title from Donovan's "Season of the Witch".

Carlos remembered when he was little, he would avoid mirrors. He couldn’t understand how he could be himself and his reflection be there. When he taught himself how to read, he learned how it worked. But he still didn’t like seeing the version of himself the mirror showed. 

Mirrors told too much truth and lied at the same time.

He could see all his flaws, the physical ones, clear as day. But his fear and insecurities were still inside. So if he put on enough eyeliner, sneered enough, and acted bigger than his real self, he could fool the mirror. Maybe not anyone else, but the mirror for sure.

He went like that for a while. He’d only use mirrors when he was getting ready, trying to look like a tough gang member and not a kid. Evie would coo over him and dress him up some days, and he would avoid looking directly into the mirror as long as he could. 

Then without any time to get ready or process it, he was in Auradon. These people _loved_ their mirrors. They were everywhere, and reflective surfaces of all other kinds too. Carlos would see himself a dozen times without even trying. 

He’d go to wash up in the morning, and there was his pale, scrawny self. He’d brush his teeth at night, and there he was. He couldn’t stand it.

Jay didn’t seem to mind his reflection the way he did. Carlos had caught him flexing in the bathroom a few times. Evie didn’t either. Mal seemed to feel closer to the way he did-he’d caught her giving her reflection the finger once. 

“Everyone here’s obsessed with appearances,” she said when she noticed that Carlos had seen her. “Who needs it?” 

“Not us,” Carlos said, grinning at her. Then they forgot about it.

When they settled in Auradon, and agreed to try to make it their home, Carlos thought he would relax. He couldn’t. He still felt out of place, like something would happen and he’d be sent back to live with his mom. 

One day, while he was towel-drying his hair before he started straightening it, he caught a look at his reflection.

And it looked back. 

Carlos froze. The version of him in the mirror was smirking. Just for a moment, he saw dark eyes full of malevolence, staring through him. Then it was over, and he was back to looking at his normal self. Carlos dropped the towel and ran. 

He tried to talk to Jay first. “Jay, I think our bathroom mirror is spelled.” 

Jay gave him the exact look Carlos was expecting from that sort of sentence. “Okay.”

“No really, my reflection looked back at me, and it wasn’t me.” Carlos was still shaking, and held his hand up. “See. It looked at me. It’s planning something.” 

Jay pulled him in for a hug. “Okay. Calm down. I’ll go check out the mirror.” He said it in just the same way he used to comfort him after a gang fight or a nightmare. He went into the bathroom and was gone for a few minutes. 

“I didn’t see anything weird,” Jay said when he came back. “I think it’s just a mirror. I mean, who would spell a mirror?” 

“Who knows,” Carlos said. “But it’s happened before. I mean, Evie had a damn magic mirror she carried everywhere for a while.”

“Yeah, and then she donated it,” Jay said. “And she’d never spell this mirror, and she wouldn’t scare you. Maybe you just were mistaken. Are you tired? You’ve been taking a lot of extra classes.” 

“I know what I saw,” Carlos muttered, but he was already doubting it. Maybe he was tired, and saw something that wasn’t there. It happened a lot, right? He’d read about psychology, and how easily minds could occasionally misfire under some circumstances. 

“Let’s just go to class,” Jay said. “You can go without straightening your hair one day.” Jay clapped him on the shoulder, and Carlos decided to forget about it for the rest of the day. It was probably nothing. 

…

It was two days later when he saw it again. He was brushing his teeth, and looked up after spitting out a mouthful of toothpaste. Then he yelled, jumping backwards. “The fuck?!”

His reflection was staring at him again, grinning with sharpened teeth. He could see his reflected self holding Dude. But Dude wasn’t wriggling or barking. He was limp, with blood in his fur. The reflection grinned wider as Carlos screamed. 

Then Carlos passed out, hitting his head on the corner of the sink. 

…

He woke up in the nurse’s office. Jay and Mal were both there. “Hey,” Mal said when Carlos opened his eyes. “What happened?”

“I saw my reflection. It was evil.” He put a hand to his head, there was a swollen lump there. “It killed Dude.” 

Mal looked over at Jay. “He told me that earlier,” Jay said. “That he thinks our mirror is spelled.” Jay knelt down and took Carlos’s hand. “It’s not real, Dude’s fine. He was barking like crazy when you fell.” 

“I saw him. He’s gonna get out and kill us.” Mal looked behind her, trying to see if anyone was listening. The nurse always seemed to be nearby when one of them was in her office.

“Carlos, please be careful,” she whispered. “I don’t want them to send you to a hospital. Let me try to figure this out. Me and Evie can work on this, okay?” She put a hand on his forehead. “Nurse wants you to stay here for an hour or so, to make sure you’re all right. I’m going to find Evie.” Then she strode off.

Jay pulled up a chair and took Carlos’s hand again. “Okay, tell me everything you saw. Maybe that will help.” 

Carlos didn’t want to think about it. But he whispered everything he could remember to Jay. For his part, Jay didn’t look at him like he was crazy. “I still don’t think this is magic,” Jay said, and Carlos felt his heart sink. “But there has to be a reason why you’re seeing this now.” 

“Do you think I’m crazy?” Jay winced, and held Carlos’s hand tighter. 

“I think something might be going on. But you’re no crazier than the rest of us.” Carlos nodded, ignoring the pain in his head. He was so tired. “Do you want to switch rooms? Maybe we can get another one.”

“How would we explain it?” Carlos didn’t think it would work anyway. He was beginning to think it didn’t matter what mirror it was. Maybe this was just inside him. Carlos tried not to think about that. He concentrated on the feeling of Jay’s hand in his. He still hadn’t let go.

“Don’t worry, Carlos. We’ll fix it.” Carlos closed his eyes. 

…

The first thing Jay did was put a sheet over the mirror, securing it with some duct tape he’d borrowed from the janitor’s closet. Then he closed the door to the bathroom. “Can you sleep?” He asked Carlos. 

“Maybe. I don’t know.” Jay pulled his shirt off. 

“Sleep with me. That way you can wake me up if anything happens. Okay?” 

“Okay.” Carlos got in Jay’s bed, and said nothing when Jay curled around him. Jay always did like to touch him, so this wasn’t very strange. Carlos turned the lamp off, and Jay settled around him. “Night Jay.”

“Try to sleep, it’ll be okay.” 

Carlos didn’t think so, but he closed his eyes. Having Jay right there seemed to help. Eventually he slept.

…

He was alone, on the Isle. Nobody else was around, it seemed deserted. That was somehow scarier than if some of the worst villains had been in front of him. He looked behind him, expecting an attack. When he turned back around, he screamed and took a step forward. 

There was his mirror self, grinning his shark grin. “You think you can get away from me?” It said. The voice was strange, growly. “You think you’re like them now?” 

“You’re not me,” Carlos said, backing up. “I was never you. We both know that.” 

“That’s what you tell yourself,” Mirror Carlos said. “But we know what you’ve done.”

“To survive, to stay alive, get away from me...” Carlos kept backing up, until he felt himself back into someone. He spun around.

Mirror Carlos was right there, and grabbed him by the throat. He tried to scream, scream, _scream_ …

“Carlos, wake up! Wake up!” He felt strong hands on him and started fighting back, swinging his fists. “No, it’s me! It’s Jay, it’s okay!” Carlos went limp, and Jay grabbed him close. “What did you see?”

“He grabbed me,” Carlos said, his voice raspy. “He was there. I could feel it.” 

Jay let go and turned on the lamp. “It was just a dream, couldn’t have happened-oh shit.” Jay stared at his throat. “Carlos...there’s a bruise.” 

Carlos couldn’t move, or say anything. He could see the terror in Jay’s eyes, and felt it with him. Finally he croaked out, “He’s gonna kill me, Jay.” Jay shook his head, but looked helpless. Jay never looked like that. 

“We have to get the girls. Now.” Jay scrambled out of bed, and pulled on a shirt. 

“Don’t leave me here!” Carlos said, crying. He couldn’t stay here alone. If having Jay with him didn’t stop Mirror Carlos, being alone would be much worse. 

“You can come with me, come on.” Jay grabbed his hand and started to pull him up. Carlos ran out of the room in his bare feet and pj’s, Jay still pulling him. They made it to the girl’s dorm in minutes. 

“Come on,” Jay said, as he tried to knock on the door without alerting the whole wing. He kept a tight hand on Carlos the entire time. “Mal!” He whispered. “Let us in!” After another few long minutes, Evie opened the door. 

“What-boys!” She said as they rushed in. Mal was sitting up in bed, looking like she was ready to hex both of them for interrupting her rest. “What happened?”

“Carlos’s alter self attacked him in his sleep,” Jay said. “Look!” He tipped Carlos’s head up gently. “Look at the bruise!” There was silence from the girls, Evie open-mouthed. “Mal, come on-what do we do?” 

“I...” Mal looked bewildered, and Carlos sunk to the floor. Even the strongest person he knew didn’t know how to help him. “I’m getting my spellbook,” she said, and turned around. “Carlos, stay will us, we’ll fix this.” Carlos felt gentle hands on his, and looked up to see Jay cupping his face. 

Jay had been more protective since the showdown with Mal against her mother. He never really seemed to want to leave Carlos alone. Somehow, Carlos never though as to why. “Hey,” Carlos said, voice hoarse. He felt lost, sore, and like he couldn’t see a way out. But he couldn’t let Jay think he’d given up. 

“Hey,” Jay said back. “Come on, get up if you can. We can sit over here while Mal looks for something” Then he helped Carlos up, putting an arm around him as he led him to the chairs. After he sat Carlos in one, he got him some water. “See if you can swallow, we might have to go back to the nurse.”

“N-no,” he rasped out. “She’ll think I’m crazy, did it myself. Or that I was fighting.” He sipped the water. It hurt, but he could get it down. “I can’t go back to sleep. Jay, keep me awake.” 

 

“We all will, we’ll stay up with you until we fix this,” Evie said, but Carlos kept his eyes on Jay. Jay looked like he could cry, and Carlos had never seen that before. Why was he noticing this now? Carlos put a hand on Jay’s arm, and Jay took his hand, squeezing it. 

Meanwhile, Mal was flipping through her spellbook, muttering under her breath. “Cursed mirrors, evil doubles, dream creatures, come on...okay, I might have something.” She took a deep breath. “Evil twin with ill intent, leave this realm and relent.” She pointed at Carlos. 

“Did it work? Did you feel anything?” Carlos looked down at himself. He did feel something, like a protective feeling over him. He looked at Mal and nodded, slumping in the chair. He was so tired. “Carlos?”

“He said he did, leave him alone,” Jay snapped. “Can we sleep in here? I don’t think we should go back to our room right now.” Carlos tried to get up. “Easy. We can sleep in one of the beds here.” 

“Okay,” Mal said. “If someone catches us, we’ll say we were up late studying or something.” Mal grabbed a pillow from her bed and threw it on Evie’s. “Let’s try to sleep. Carlos, let us know if anything else happens.” 

Carlos nodded, half asleep already. Jay walked him to the bed and they curled up together. 

Carlos slept through the night without seeing his mirror self at all. 

…

When he woke up the next day, Jay immediately woke up too. “How are you? Did you...see him?” Carlos shook his head. “Well, that’s good. I hope that’s it.” 

“I hope so too,” Carlos croaked out. “My voice,” he said. It sounded terrible. 

“Shhh, we’ll get you a doctor,” Jay said. He was close, so close that Carlos didn’t really think much about it. He just leaned in and kissed Jay before he could get nervous. Jay went still, and just when Carlos thought that he had misread the signals, Jay kissed him back, one possessive hand on his back.

“I didn’t tell you two you could make out in my bed.” Mal was glaring at them from her spot on Evie’s bed. Evie was giggling and making kissy faces at them. Jay gave her the finger. “Really, take that to your own room.” But Carlos could see the smile she was trying to hide. 

“Took you two long enough,” Evie said. “Jay’s been your shadow since the Coronation.” Carlos nodded, and then tried to clear his throat. “Oh honey. Let’s get you to the nurse.” 

“She’s gonna wonder who choked him,” Jay said, but he scrambled out of bed, then held a hand out for Carlos. They went to the bathroom and took a shower together. They needed to hurry, so they only kissed a few times. 

Carlos felt like he might be in the clear, but he avoided the bathroom mirror. Or tried to. He caught a glimpse of himself, and he thought it was normal. Maybe.

Maybe.

…

They went to the nurse’s office again, and while she stared at them when she saw the marks on Carlos’s throat, she said nothing and just called a doctor to come visit. The doctor was an older man, who seemed polite enough. He looked Carlos over, and said that his windpipe didn’t appear to be seriously damaged. 

“Okay, the nurse has iced it,,” he said. “I’ll get you a neck brace. This will hold it still so it can heal. Don’t speak unless you have to for the next few days. Let it heal as much as it can. But who choked you? It’s clear that another person did this.” 

Carlos didn’t know what to say. Jay clears his throat. “Accident. During tourney.” The doctor turned and looked at Jay with suspicion. Jay stood his ground, but it was clear that the doctor thought Jay had choked Carlos. 

“Young man, can you leave the room for a minute?” Carlos’s heart sank as Jay walked away. Jay looked over his shoulder, mouthing _it’s okay_. Carlos steeled himself for what was coming next.

“Now, you can tell me. Is he abusing you?” Carlos shook his head. “He’s not?” Carlos nodded. “Did he do that on accident? Like...a game?” Carlos’s eyes widened. This doctor thought Jay had choked him during sex. Holy shit.

“N-no,” Carlos croaked. “We don’t do things like that. Promise.” The doctor looked unconvinced. “He doesn’t hurt me, ever.” The doctor sighed as he got a brace from the closet of medical equipment.

“All right. I still don’t believe that’s a tourney accident, but I guess I’ll have to leave it. You rest for a couple of days, but remember, don’t speak too much. The nurse can give you a pass from class. Come by my office in a few days. Here’s my card.” He handed Carlos a little piece of paper with a name and address on them. “And you can ask me anything. Okay, take care.” Then the doctor put a brace on him, and left.

Jay came back in soon as the doctor was out of the building, and sat down near the bed. “Hey. Hey you okay? Did he think that...” 

“Yeah. He asked if you choked me. Like, during sex.” 

Jay sat in shock for a minute. “Wow. I didn’t even know they did things like that in Auradon.” Jay grinned and shook his head. “I’m insulted that he thinks that, but still, it’s kind of funny.” 

“No it isn’t.” There was nothing funny about Jay being an abuser. Talking made Carlos’s voice hurt. “Can you get me paper? And a pen.”

Jay was up immediately, going to look through his book bag. Carlos wondered how he didn’t see this before, Jay’s devotion to him. They had gone through a lot, so maybe he was distracted. He still was-he wasn’t sure his mirror self was done. When Jay got back, he started scribbling a note.

 _I think he’ll come back, eventually._ He handed it to Jay. 

Jay read it, and nodded. “You’re probably right. We need more help, but who do we go to?” He handed the paper back. 

_Don’t know. Who here knows about magic? It’s probably just FG. Are we that desperate?_

Jay looked at it. “You’re in a neck brace. Hell fucking yes we are.” 

…

“Well,” FG said, trying to act like she wasn’t flustered. “I wasn’t expecting to see all four of you requesting a meeting. But it looks like it’s serious. What happened to poor Carlos?” Carlos was about to get his pen, but Jay beat him to it.

“He was attacked in his dream. He says an evil version of him is in the mirrors and his dreams, and it nearly crushed his windpipe.” Jay shifted. “I didn’t believe it at first, but look at the bruising. I can promise you, it wasn’t any of us.” 

“I put a spell on Carlos, to protect him,” Mal said softly. “Don’t punish me for that. I know you could, but-”

“Carlos doesn’t think the spell will last,” Evie cut in. “And we need a lot of help. Do you know anything that we can do?”

FG seemed perplexed, and sat there for a minute. “Are you all sure,” she said carefully, “That this isn’t psychological? And that Carlos didn’t hurt himself somehow?”

Carlos got his notepad and scribbled fast. _Maybe it is, but how could I choke myself in a deep sleep?_

“I don’t know, do you have any witnesses that you were asleep, or...” Carlos wasn’t sure what she was getting at, that he was crazy enough to strangle himself, or that someone else had done it. But again, he didn’t get a chance to respond.

“We were sleeping in the same bed,” Jay said. “He was scared and I was holding him. He woke up screaming with a bruised throat. I know nobody else was in the room, and I didn’t do it.” FG looked speechless. 

After a long minute, she sighed. “Well, I think I can help you,” she said. “I’ve heard of mirror images before. But it’s not directed from outside, it comes from the person being targeted in most cases. Carlos, is there anything in your past, that you feel regret for?”

Carlos looked down at his notepad. Finally he wrote _Too many to count._ He didn’t like admitting that. He’d convinced most of Auradon that he was harmless, never did anything out of turn on the Isle because he was just so sweet. They had no idea. 

FG looked at the note and then back at him. “I’m sorry,” she said. No judgment. No anger. Just that. Carlos felt a tear trickle down his face. “So, your mirror self is the things you want to repress, and it’s feeding on your energy and attacking you. It’s a mix of magic and your brain. There’s ways to help, but it’s going to be unpleasant.” 

Carlos got the pad. _What do I have to do?_

…

Less than an hour later, FG had Carlos in a room with the lights out, lying on a high bed-like thing, and she was putting some music on. “We’re going to get you to meditate, or maybe hypnotize you,” she said. “So you can confront your mirror self. If you can do this successfully, he will disappear. But you have to be strong.” 

“Okay,” he croaked. FG squeezed his hand. 

“Good. I’ll be in the room, and I’ll guide you at first. I need you to breathe deeply. Take a deep breath for five seconds, and exhale for five seconds.” Carlos did as she said, trying to relax. It was hard, knowing he was going to confront Mirror Carlos on purpose. But he tried. She gave him more instructions, and talked to him calmly. He felt himself start to sink.

He was back on the Isle. It was deserted, again. He looked around, wondering if his mirror self had killed everyone else. 

“They’re not important.” 

He spun around. Mirror Carlos was sitting in a window on the second floor of a deserted building. “They’re not here because they don’t need to be. Did I do that to you?” Carlos touched his throat-he still had the brace on even here. “Good.” 

“Why now?” He rasped out. Mirror Carlos grinned and jumped out of the window, landing on his feet. 

“You’ve got them fooled, don’t you? Sweet little Carlos. Loves his dog and does well in school. You took everything about yourself that Auradon hated, and shoved it away. And that made me.” Carlos nodded. 

“I know what I’ve done. My friends do. But...you’re not me. I never enjoyed it, you just want to kill everything...” he was backing up again, as Mirror Carlos came forward. 

“I’ll take you over,” Mirror Carlos said, grinning. “Take your body, let your friends deal with me. How long do you think they’ll last, if I get a knife? Mal and Jay might put up a fight, but Evie and Ben would be easy pickings.” 

“You won’t fucking dare touch them,” Carlos said. He stood his ground then. He couldn’t show any more weakness. “They’re mine. And they love me, even knowing what I’ve done.”

“Say it then,” Mirror Carlos said, swinging at him. Carlos ducked the punch. “Say it!” 

“I’ve stolen.” That was nothing, everyone did. “I pushed people around, bullied them. I made people miserable. I got into gang fights.”

“You’re leaving one out,” Mirror Carlos said, and then he grabbed Carlos by the shirt. “The pirate.” 

Carlos’s voice cracked. “The pirate.” 

…

It had been another fight for turf. Carlos and Jay were two against five with a group of Uma’s henchmen, and Jay had tossed him a knife. Carlos put it in front of him, hoping that the pirates would just be scared off. That didn’t happen.

Instead Jay yelled, and Carlos saw him get stabbed in the shoulder. Carlos swung on the pirate (a girl, dirty, in tattered clothes) and stabbed her without hesitation. 

He got her in the chest, not in the heart, but she bled like crazy. Harry Hook grabbed her and dragged her off, screaming at them that there would be hell to pay later. Carlos grabbed Jay and they ran away. They spent the night getting Jay patched up while Mal planned revenge for the attack. Carlos sat in the corner of their lair, rocking back and forth as Evie tried to comfort him.

He found out later that the pirate lived, but just barely. She had been weakened, and had to leave the pirate gang. Weak people didn’t do well on the Isle, so she went into hiding. Carlos had tried to put her out of his mind. She had attacked first, after all. 

“I wish I’d never done that,” he said. “But she could’ve killed Jay.” 

“Think I care?” Mirror Carlos snarled at him. “I’m you. I’m more the real you than you are. I want your life, so I can ruin it.” Carlos shoved his mirror self back. He’d had enough. He wasn’t letting this bastard take him over.

Mirror Carlos swung at him again, and Carlos swept his feet out from under him. They would up on the ground, fighting, Mirror Carlos trying to reach for his throat again. He kept fighting, kept holding Mirror Carlos away, when he heard a voice in his brain. 

“Carlos, hate can’t beat hate here. You have to ask forgiveness.”

It was FG, she knew what was happening. She knew what he did. Carlos pushed Mirror Carlos away. The mirror self caught his breath, same as Carlos. They stared at each other.

“I’m sorry,” he said. Mirror Carlos didn’t move. “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry we ever had that stupid turf war to begin with. It was over one block, what were we doing? I know I did it to protect Jay, but I hurt her.”

“You hurt me,” Mirror Carlos said then. Carlos stared.

“I hurt you. I almost killed you. I am so sorry.” Mirror Carlos ducked his head, and Carlos saw blond stringy hair, not curly like his. “It’s you?”

“I guess,” the pirate girl said. “I don’t even know if I’m you or me anymore. I don’t know how I got inside you. But I did.” She looked up, and Carlos saw green eyes and a round face. She had tear tracks in the dirt on her face. “I was happy, being a pirate. And then it was all over because I couldn’t fight or run the sails any more. Only person who remembered me was Harry. He brought me food.” 

“Did you die?” Carlos felt tears of his own starting. She nodded. “When?”

“Killed myself. A few months after.” She didn’t look at him. “And I thought that would be it, I didn’t think ghosts existed on the Isle. But I didn’t, instead I found you. Or my mind did.” She glared at him, eyes full of hurt and sadness. 

“I’m sorry,” Carlos said again. “I’m sorry we were even put in that position, fighting over nothing because we were born on the Isle. But I still did it. It doesn’t matter why or how. And I’m so sorry you killed yourself.” 

“If I killed you, I could at least get revenge,” the girl said, and Carlos tensed up. “I could, I know I can hurt you. But I don’t know what would happen to me after.” She sniffled. “I don’t know what to do.” 

“Carlos sat in the dust of the Isle, and held up his hands. “Can we just...stop?” He said. “We don’t have to keep fighting on and on. We can just leave it. I can’t bring you back, and killing me won’t help.” He kept eye contact, hoping she would listen.

“I guess,” she said. “You’re right, can’t bring me back.” She sat on the ground near him. “My name, was Alicia,” she said. She held out her hand. Carlos waited for a second, expecting a trap. Then he took it. 

They sat like that, holding hands, until Alicia blew away in the wind, leaving Carlos alone. He wiped his eyes, sniffling, until he was brought back in FG’s office. He was still crying there, and FG just pulled him into a hug. 

“Good job,” she said, her own voice cracking. “You did great.”

“You know...” Carlos said, and FG shushed him, rubbing his back.

“I won’t say anything,” she said. “It doesn’t count against you here. We don’t blame soldiers for what they did while fighting the enemy.” 

“She-she wasn’t an enemy, we were just stupid,” Carlos said, and he pulled back. “You know that, I know you do.” 

“I know,” she said. “But I’m still not holding it against you. You were defending Jay. The important part is that you don’t let your guilt give Alicia a toehold into your life again. I can give you stuff to read, about that. And you need to make sure your throat heals, so no more talking.” 

Carlos nodded. FG sighed and patted her hair back in place. “Do you want me to get the others?” Carlos wrote _Yes_ on his notepad. She gave him a soft smile, and then left the room. 

Jay burst into the room first. “Are you okay? Is he gone? Tell me he won’t be back.” Then he kissed Carlos in front of Evie, Mal and FG. “Carlos, please be okay.” 

“I think she’s gone,” Carlos said, and Jay looked confused. Carlos got his notepad and scribbled out the story, while FG filled in the gaps. When they were done, Evie, Mal and Jay stared at each other.

“Excuse me,” Evie said, and she walked out of the room fast on her heels. Carlos could hear her crying. 

“Shit, hang on.” Mal strode after her. That left Jay, who looked a little sick. 

“I remember that, I remember her,” Jay said. “She got me and I thought that would be it, but you got her back worse. And I never thought about how it effected her. I just thought, well, shouldn’t have stabbed me.” 

Carlos took Jay’s hand. “This is my fault,” Jay said. “I’m the one who got you involved in that fight. I’m the one who pushed it. I knew how crazy Harry was, and I provoked him.” Carlos shook his head. “It’s true, you know that.”

“All our faults,” Carlos said, voice hoarse. “Everyone’s guilty. Dunno...how she got to me though.”

“Yes, I’m concerned about that myself,” FG said. She seemed unnerved by the affection they were showing for each other, but tried to hide it under good cheer. “Jay, please take Carlos to your room. He needs to recover. Do you have any pain medication?” 

Carlos wrote _No_ on the notepad. Must have been an oversight. FG got some little pills out of a drawer and gave them to Carlos. “Take these. It doesn’t need a prescription, but it will help.” Jay helped Carlos sit up, and went to get him a glass of water.

FG watched him go. She looked at Carlos. “Is he your boyfriend?” Carlos felt warm at that, and scribbled _Guess so_. 

“Did this happen after the Coronation?” Carlos nodded. Jay had changed after that, been even more protective. “Okay. That makes sense, I suppose. You take care of yourself.” She stopped talking when Jay burst back into the room with a bottle of water. 

Carlos figured she had some misgivings, but wasn’t going to articulate them while Carlos was recovering from his ordeal. Instead she watched as Jay held the glass to Carlos’s lips as he took the pills. 

Why everyone thought Jay would hurt him, Carlos couldn’t understand. But it didn’t matter, because Jay was helping him off the bed and leading him out of the room. 

…

Jay stayed with Carlos nearly the entire time he was recovering, only gong to practice when he had to. He watched Carlos like a hawk, trying to see if he would see the pirate again. But Carlos thought maybe she was truly gone. He hoped so. He just wanted his life back. 

“I wonder why this happened to you, and not any of us,” Jay said, throwing crumbled paper into the waste basket across the room. “Like, we’ve all got things we regret.” 

“I don’t know. We’re all adjusting to Auradon too.” Carlos’s voice was better, and he could talk more. “Maybe I was just vulnerable.” He flipped through channels on TV-Mal was getting a lot of attention from the press now due to her relationship with Ben.

“You know,” Jay said. “It is kind of weird that she took your shape, rather than, you know, your mom.” 

Carlos didn’t look over. “I know. But she was appearing in the mirror. So I guess that’s why.” It wasn’t like how Cruela had treated him was a secret on the Isle. 

“Probably,” Jay said. He was closer now, holding Carlos’s hand. “This has just been...I was so worried.” Carlos looked over then-Jay never liked admitting to weakness when he could help it. “I can’t fight a mirror, you know. Or a dream. So it was out of my league, something I couldn’t handle. I’m glad you found a way.”

“FG helped,” he said. “I couldn’t have done it if she wasn’t there.” Going to her had been a risk, but he was glad they did it. “I hope Alicia is at peace. I just...none of this was fair.” 

“I know.” Jay cuddled closer. Carlos closed his eyes. Jay would always try to make sure he was safe, he was sure of it. 

…

When Carlos dozed off, Jay got up and went to the shower. When he got out, he towel-dried his hair while looking at himself in the mirror. It was just a reflection, he was sure of it. This couldn’t happen twice, right? 

As he watched himself, he kept wondering what he would do. If the mirror self moved.


End file.
